Liquid laundry detergents have been known in the art for decades. Modern detergents often comprise a blend of synthetic surfactants surfactants that are petroleum-derived, along with any number of additional ingredients, such as builders, water-conditioners, dispersants, soil-release polymers, detersive enzymes, and bleaching agents, to improve cleaning performance and to achieve compositions that are consumer acceptable. Although major strides over decades have moved laundry detergents away from phosphates, many liquid detergents today use synthetic surfactants that, although biodegradable, are petroleum-derived. Many of the surfactants used today are petroleum-based rather than, for example, plant-sourced. There is a need for detergent compositions that include renewable ingredients yet still provide consumer acceptable performance.
It is known in the art to make small substitutions, for example, reduction of builder and/or surfactant levels by increasing enzyme levels, or elimination of phosphates by substitution with carbonate or bicarbonate builders and biodegradable chelants. However, it is problematic to apply this strategy for the replacement of all non-renewable ingredients within a composition, as multiple types of enzymes may need to be combined and stabilized, and additional ingredients beyond the enzymes may be needed to make up for lost performance, (e.g. high levels of optical brightener). A formulation containing a combination of surfactants, including fatty alkyl ether sulfate, linear alcohol ethoxylate, and nonionic sugar surfactant (alkyl polyglycoside), in combination with a multi-enzyme system is known. An eco-friendly liquid laundry detergent composition comprising biodegradable, non-petroleum-derived anionic and nonionic surfactants, with “natural essences” (essential oils or other natural extracts) is known. A liquid laundry detergent composition comprising alkyl polyglycoside (APG) with fatty alcohol sulfate, at least two detersive enzymes, an enzyme stabilization system (e.g., borate and/or citrate and/or calcium salts), d-limonene or other natural essence, water and adjuvant, and having a sustainability index of greater than 3 is also known.
And, a detergent comprising water, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, C14-15 pareth-n, sodium citrate, sodium palm kernelate, MEA-borate, sodium laureth sulfate, dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid, alcohol, propylene glycol, sulfated ethoxylated hexamethylenediamine quaternized, perfume, co-polymer of PEG/vinyl acetate, hydrogenated castor oil, PEI-14 PEG-10/PPG-7 copolymer, ethanolamine, sodium diethylenetriamine pentamethylene phosphate, PEG/PPG-10/2 propylheptyl ether, butylphenyl methylpropionyl, sorbitol, glycerin, sodium hydroxide, sodium formate, sulfuric acid, alpha-isomethyl ionone, protease, geraniol, linalool, citronellol, tripropylene glycol, glycosidase, phenyl methicone, colorant, sodium acetate, cellulase, phenoxy ethanol, sodium sulfate, silica, and sodium polynaphthalenesulfonate is known.
Overall, the known laundry detergents that contain renewable ingredients do not perform at consumer acceptable levels and do not provide performance that is comparable to that of traditional detergents. There is a need for a laundry detergent that has an increased concentration of renewable components yet has performance comparable to that of traditional detergents.